One of the goals of the program is to remove barriers that students often encounter when taking on a project outside the curricular scope of the medical program. The program committee seeks to facilitate student access to resources that might not be immediately apparent.

Students in the medical humanities area of concentration program may begin advance preparation for a humanities project by taking advantage of relevant electives in their first three years and submitting a preliminary proposal to the area program. Students particularly interested in a topic not yet taught in electives may choose to initiate their own.

Either in their third year or in the fourth, students interested in further pursuing the medical humanities area will be asked to complete a final research proposal that will be reviewed by an interdisciplinary committee of UCSF/UCB scholars. Acceptance of a research proposal will enable the students to apply for research funds from the Center for Humanities and Health Sciences (UCSF).

Humanities area concentrators must fulfill three requirements:

• Preparation and training
• Research and experiential immersion
• Legacy - Area concentrators will be required to present their work to their colleagues in the program (a presentation that may include an installation, reading from a publication, or performance).

Students who would like to join the area of concentration program in their fourth year will be required to show their commitment and interest in the humanities by way of the following:

1.) Submit a preliminary proposal at some point during the first three years of their medical school training or early in the fourth. The preliminary proposal should include:

• A research question, theme, or defined area of interest (this should include reference to why the student is interested in this theme, where the question emerges from, in a personal and professional sense).
  
• Description of prior preparation, if any (undergraduate experience, pre-medical coursework, travel experience, etc.)
  
• A plan for preparation (including coursework, experience, tutorials, directed reading, research opportunities).
  
• Prospective list of faculty advisors with whom the student will work.
  
  Preliminary proposals must be submitted to the Humanities Area of Concentration program for review and feedback from the evaluation committee and students should be prepared to undertake modifications to their proposals based on the committee's review.

2.) Submit a final proposal at least one month in advance of undertaking their project. The final proposal should include:

• A defined analytical perspective (the project must be more than simple description and immersion; it should engage some of the relevant literature and theory from the disciplinary fields and show that the student is significantly engaged in an intellectual and creative effort - though certainly not at the level of a master's candidate)
  
• Identification of a specific question or problem with an explanation of methodology (what is the proposed method of interpretation, what are the disciplinary links? This section should show evidence of preparation during prior months/years for this project).
  
• Identification of a committed advisor or mentor, with brief letter of support (we will produce a form letter for this).
  
• Schedule of activities that will be undertaken for completion of the project. (This can include writing, research, archival explorations, mentoring activities, dramatic work, and so on)
  
• Legacy: a description of the final product; what meaning does it have for the student's personal and professional development? what will the student be able to share or show at the end of it?
  
• If funds are required for this research, provide a detailed budget (proposals will be considered for full or partial funding from Center for Humanities and Health Sciences resources).

Final proposals must be submitted to the Humanities Area of Concentration program for review and feedback from the evaluation committee and students should be prepared to undertake modifications to their proposals based on the committee's review.

2.) Area concentrators will be required to attend both the presentation seminar for their cohort (including installations, lectures, slide shows, etc.) and the joint UCSF/UCB Medical Humanities Seminar series (public lectures and discussion seminars).

3.) Area concentrators will be required to fulfill their research project in a timely manner, as outlined in their proposals and make a final presentation to the medical humanities group (including student's cohort) before completing the fourth year. The form of this final presentation can be varied, in accordance with the student's project, including performances, installations, videos, public lectures, unpublished manuscripts or journals, final papers, publications.